Bloodmoon Hunters
The Bloodmoon Hunters are a stalwart and dedicated non-codex compliant Loyalist Space Marine Chapter created during the 13th Founding, the so-called 'Dark Founding'. Little is known of this mysterious founding as there are no reliable records that indicate how many Chapters were conceived during this Founding or what became of them. Extant records indicate that the Bloodmoon Hunters were supposedly created during this Founding around the time a recorded prophecy foretold their inception. It is generally believed that the Adeptus Mechanicus might have played a role in the creation of this Chapter, as their inception occurred sometime in early M35, during the divisive and widespread doctrinal conflict known as the Moirae Schism. The Bloodmoon Hunters were known to maintain close ties with the Archmagos of the Cult Mechanicus as well, receiving a wide diversity of arms and weaponry, including power blades and relic weaponry of the finest quality and rare, advanced patterns of armoured vehicles and gunships. Chapter History Founded in the 35th millennium as part of the mysterious 13th Founding, the Bloodmoon Hunters were created around a time a prophecy was recorded. "Under the Blood Moon of Harvests, Hunters of the immaterial will find not what they seek but the answer to the question unasked." During the Moirae Schism, the Bloodmoon Hunters were formed with close association to the Cult Mechanicus. The Chapter was given three missions for it's priorities. The first was to guard the warp corridor known as the Sanguis Portus. This was the only stable set of warp routes out to the Fringes of the Ishtar Subsector. This mandate would be the binding chain that kept them beyond the edge of most known centers of power. The second was to support the Fleets being sent into the far reaches of the Fringes. And Lastly the Bloodmoon Hunters were to guard the Ishtar Subsector as a whole. The Great Rift Opens and the Noctis Aeterna cuts off the systems of the Ishtar Sub-sector from each other and the wide galaxy. As darkness descends across the Sub-sector a variety of threats threaten to see it burn in the fires of war. Corruption and Heresy surges within the ranks of the local Ecclesiarchy and Mechanicus. Necrons emerge on Incendius Lux, Delta Lux, and Crucia. The Frontier Worlds erupt into chaos as House Fásacha, the Lunar Venatorii Cavalry Regiments, and Ishtar Pioneers struggle to repel a tide of Drukhari, Ork Freebooter, Chaos, and Harlequin raiders. Orks from the nearby Charadon Empire emerge near the Contrador system sparking continuous naval battles. The Penal World of Contrition erupts in revolt, and Khornate cults emerge wherever Penal Regiments are stationed. Finally, the Bloodmoon chapter sees the Great Rift as the herald of the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Blood, and fervently seek to identify and defeat signs of the prophecy. The Primaris Marines of Crawl have yet to make it as far as the Ishtar Fringe Corridor known as Sanguis Portus but rumor has it a squad of Hellbasters in Bloodmoon Hunters colors have made themselves known among the Unnumbered Sons and are on their way to join their brethren on the Eastern Fringe. As it stands The Comhairle of Fiach has yet to make judgement on the rumors nor on Primaris Marines in general. Like all on the front, they wait for proof of the abilities to survive the ends of the Imperium. Chapter Homeworld On the former Icy Hive World, now turned Volcanic Death World of Aigéad Fuil in the Damuterr System, a single settlement, protected by void shields exists on this world, has a burgeoning society of techno-barbaric gangs. They are allowed to commit their gang warfare in the trade city as long as they don't attack off-worlders and give a tithe to the Astartes overlords. The Techno-Barbarians use armored vehicles, and scavenge from failed recon teams and aircraft from the wastelands due to the acidic atmosphere. But the risks of these expeditions and the rapidly degrading hulls of the vehicles cause inter-gang warfare, as gangs fight for loot and intact hulls for their own craft.The hardened youth, with an experience of armored warfare and technological expertise are perfect candidates for the Astartes. The ancient hives that eked out a harsh living on the acid-rain soaked planet of Aigéad Fuil was brought into the Imperial Fold, and would be gifted to the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter for overseeing the warp routes further into the Ishtar Fringes that would become known as the Sanguis Portus, or the "Blood Gate". Few others make life out of heavily processed ancient lower hives of hives whose void shields has failed over time. Fortress-Monastery The Fortress-Monastery of the Bloodmoon Hunters is actually split in two. On the surface of Aigéad Fuil under heavy void shields is the Citadel known as Folsom's Keep. At Folsom's Keep Aspirants are gathered once they have made it through the trials for their initial training and indoctrination. Floating in orbit above is Lebenmali, a grand Star Fort designed specifically for the Bloodmoon Hunters and their mission to watch over the Warp Corridors of Sanguis Portus. Lebenmali is essentially a mobile battle station. In form and scale, it is nearer a planetoid than a conventional vessel; it is a mighty cathedral of war that dwarfs the largest Battle Barge, and wields the firepower of a formidable ﬂeet. The size of a large asteroid, its foredeck can dock a dozen Imperial Navy Cruisers around its circumference. The hull of the star fort is many kilometres long, triangular in cross-section with its upper surface bristling with weapons and sensorium domes. Every surface was clad in solid armour plating and every angle was covered by more torpedo tubes and Lance batteries than any Imperial Battleship could muster. Countless smaller spacecraft, repair craft and unmanned scouts orbited like supplicants jostling for attention, and the wake of the titanic engines seemed to churn the void itself with the force of their plasma fire. Its sides are studded with the maws of Macrocannons, missile clusters, Thunderhawk launch bays, and Plasma Mortars, while the spires that rise from its surface are serrated with hundreds of Defense Laser cupolas. Any hostiles who boarded the immense ship might find themselves trapped in the tight, winding corridors of the engineering and maintenance areas just beneath the hull's skin, separated from the vast ship’s more vulnerable areas by hundreds of automated bulkhead doors and whole sections of outer deck that could be vented into hard vacuum with the press of a control stud. Lebenmali is also home to all manner of Astartes training facilities. In vast domes, unique environments can be recreated in which the Battle-Brothers can perfect their battle drill and rehearse their missions. Some of these domes have been stocked with life forms, such as Death World flora and fauna, in order to create the most realistic training conditions possible. Within Lebenmali are many places in which the Battle-Brothers of The Bloodmoon Hunters may hone their skills and temper their spirits. There are huge ranges housed in vast chambers where live-fire exercises and marksmanship drills can be performed in environments ranging from tangled ruins to liquid-filled tunnels or the chill of hard vacuum. Alongside these are hundreds of smaller melee and exercise chambers where new skills with blade, fist, and body can be passed from Battle-Brother to Battle-Brother. Numerous clusters of armoured fighting cages exist where Battle-Brothers can test their skill of arms against each other. There are also libraries filled with tactical treaties, past mission logs and spiritual texts for the edification of a Battle-Brother's mental faculties. For those Space Marines who are psychically-gifted Librarians, there are specialized warded and shielded chantries for a psyker to sharpen his own unique gifts in the Emperor's service. The Armouries of Lebenmali are located deep beneath its armoured hull, secured behind the thickest blast doors and internal layers of Void Shielding of the kind more commonly used to protect Battle Titans. This is the realm of metal and actinic light, of the beat of hammers and the fire of forges that arm and armour the Emperor's angels of death. Many of the most exotic and potent weapons of the Lebenmali, however, are held within sealed vaults deep within the Lebenmali, accessible only to those who bear the secret of their opening. Vast chambers deep inside Lebenmali resembles a cathedral nave. Countless ragged, battle-scarred banners line the nave, some all but transparent with age. The high-arched, oval tunnels that make up the majority of these vaults are lined on walls, floors and ceilings with the countless polished bones, teeth and claws of slain aliens. Some fragments may be inscribed with details of a xenos type or who slew it and when, but most lie bare and unadorned in mute witness to the passing of their owners. Looping corridors connect a handful of larger sepulchres that display the bones of truly gargantuan monstrosities too big to fit elsewhere. Other macabre decorations can be found in these places too, chandeliers made of alien skulls and spines hang beside fluted pillars of chitin and bone. Tattered sheets of xenos hide hang like banners beside intricate mosaics of calcified shell. Centuries of accumulated slaughter have covered many kilometres of vaults already and the work is ever-expanding. Most Space Marines of the Bloodmoon Hunters find the Great Vaults to be a deeply spiritual, even meditative places. Here they may stand amongst the works of the brothers that came before them and rejoice in their triumph over the alien. The Catacombs run throughout the lower reaches of the fortress, twisting runs of low, narrow tunnels that were perhaps once used for ducting and maintenance. Over the centuries they have been gradually converted into repositories for accumulated xenos lore. Here great tomes of dusty learning lie beside vivisected specimens and forbidden bestiaries, all sealed by eternal guards of adamantium and wards of stasis against the dark day when such foes might rise again. To celebrate the hunting traditions of some of their Battle-Brothers, a number of large cargo bays converted into facsimiles of rugged planetary environments and they took to leading hunts through them against dangerous creatures captured for the purpose of training in the hunt. Thus, under the guise of sport and honour, Bloodmoon Hunter leaders trained their teams to hunt together with practiced zeal through frozen hells, fiery deserts and high waters equally well. Folsom's Keep is armoured and void-shielded to withstand any siege or bombardment that might befall it. Armed to repel attackers from land, air or space, its walls bristle with enough heavy ordnance to flatten a hive city. Every aerial approach to the fortress-monastery is overlooked by Icarus Pattern Lascannons, and a Macro-laser. The keep proper is dwarfed by the full bulk of the mountain, and only the very upper reaches had ever been delved into habitations. The upper reaches of The Keep feature Void Shield arrays of incredible strength. Drawing power from the Geothermal Reactors beneath The Keep the Void Shield array is capable of repelling the firepower of entire fleets, making it extremely unlikely for an enemy to attack the Keep from orbit with any hope of success. The Keep's mighty flanks bristle with massive defensive batteries capable of throwing shells, torpedoes and directed energy beams at anything foolish enough to come within range. The structure of Adamantium, granite and Ceramite bristles with linked Bolter turrets, rocket-launchers and static Plasma Cannons. This sombre keep serves as a shrine to the memory of fallen Bloodmoon Hunters who battled the Chapter's gravest foes. Whenever an Aspirant undergoes his ordeal of initiation, he must first make a pilgrimage to this mighty edifice and call upon the spirits thy lie within. A place of pilgrimage to test the endurance of the faithful and to serve as a memorial to unwavering devotion to the Emperor. Notable Campaigns *'Founding on Death Hunt (Redacted.M35)' - Sometime after their founding the Bloodmoon Hunters rediscovered Aigéad Fuil, this former Hive World had connections to the distant past as a Death Guard Legion Outpost that had been Exterminatus and then lost. The new compliance of the Aigéad Fuil was thought to be an heavy fight as it saw the destruction of the Bloodmoon Hunters Command and Veteran Marines. Out of the conflict Artificer Folsom rose to the rank of Hunt Master and reorganized the Chapter. His leadership in ending the conflict and use of hunter tactics in the tunnels of Aigéad Fuil deeply influenced the Chapter. *'Wars of Apostasy (Unknown.M36)' - The Bloodmoon Hunters added their bother chapters by committing to a sequence of battles and wars to draw the insane High Lord Goge Vandire's forces focus to more targets thinning the amount of resources he had available. *'Plague of Unbelief (Unknown.M36)' - Bloodmoon Hunters sent out several hunting parties tracking down and eliminating the many false prophets that appeared throughout the anarchic Age of Apostasy, some little more than madmen leading rebel armies, others spiritual demagogues who commanded worlds and armies. *'Lost Crusade (Unknown.M37)' - Bloodmoon Hunter parties sent out to numerous worlds to track down and eliminate hostile elements of the menial uprisings. Many parties deploy and mostly come back with reports that uprisings were widespread. *'9th Black Crusade Splinter (574.M38)' - Bloodmoon Hunters engage in a decades long hunt against various elements of far reaching fleets from the Eye of Terror. *'Investigation of Midian (407.M39)' - Bloodmoon Hunters are dispatched by their Chapter command to investigate what happened on Midian with the possible connection to the Prophecy of Blood. The thousand-year war on Midian finally ends with the Pax Veritas. Under the night's red moon, an invisible blade decapitates every celebrating soldier. *'Blue Hand Heresy (824.M39-828.M39)' - The Infiltration of Hive Sawa was an action carried out by the Blood Moon Hunters Space Marine Chapter during the events of the Blue Hand Heresy in M39. Hive Sawa was, at the time, the Capital of the World of Levan Prime in the Levan System, Levan Sub-Sector of the Mandavi Sector of Segmentum Ultima. This Hunt was lead by at the time Veteran Sergeant Scáth Hiachóir and his Hunting Party *'Waagh on the Frontier (019.M41)' - Far eastern rim of the Galaxy assaulted by an Ork Waaagh! Bloodmoon Hunters dispatched in Parties to take down various Ork Warbosses to stem the tide of the Ork Waaagh on the frontier worlds near Ishtar Subsector. *'Damocles Crusade (742-745.M41)' - Bloodmoon Hunters tie up Tau Forces in the southern reaches of their fledgling empire to enable the major assaults of the crusade. *'Farsight Enclaves Encroach (760.M41)' - Bloodmoon Hunters deal with the consequences of a second Tau faction present near the Ishtar Subsector. *'Second Tyrannic War (988-993.M41)' - *'Bloodhand near a Bloodmoon (992.M41)' - Roghrax Bloodhand swears to Khorne that he will take a skull from every warrior species in the galaxy. He directs his fleet to the Eastern Fringe so he can take skulls from the encroaching Tyranid forces. Portions of his fleet run into Bloodmoon Hunter parties. *'Tau Third Phase Expansion (977.997.M41)' - The Tau Empire resumes the Third Phase Expansion under Commander Shadowsun. They capture several worlds on the Eastern Fringe. Conflicts rage over several Frontier Worlds with Bloodmoon Hunter parties *'Zeist Campaign (999.M41)' - *'Signs of Blood (000.M42)' - As the Ishtar Sub-sector is paralyzed from the Cicatrix Maledictum, Khornate chaos cults sprout across the Sub-sector, their bloody and violent rituals spread fear across Ishtar, from the slums of Hive Worlds to the isolated farms of Frontier Worlds. Some say this is just a response to the vast amount of conflict waging and the influence of the Great Rift, however, the Bloodmoon Hunters chapter sees as a sign that the Prophecy of Blood is finally being fulfilled. They swiftly act to search out these cults, both to destroy their influence and to uncover clues as to the prophecy. *'War of Purity (030.M42)' - Lord Inquisitor Vasco leads an Ordo Maellus task force alongside the Bloodmoon Hunters in investigating and exterminating the Khornate Cults across the Ishtar Sub-sector, in addition, a coalition of Imperial forces are deployed to aid Inquisitor Garret Randall in bringing Cogger back into compliance, and after years of grueling warfare order is restored to every hive but the capital Hive Cogger itself. *'Battle for Lebendstein' - The Ag Gáire Le Gibbous (Nova-Class Frigate) crash lands on the planet of Lebendstein after rough travel through the Warp Rift as a surge hits the vessel. The crash kills most of the crew of the Ag Gáire Le Gibbous, leaving Fiach Cinnead's Hunting Party to find an ancient vox amplifier rumored to have been on the planet to request for aid. A small force of Bloodborn Wolves, patrolling the planet during their journey to the galactic south-east, following the Cicatrix Maledictum, saw the crash of the Ag Gáire Le Gibbous and decided to investigate, beginning a series of hit and run attacks and guerrilla warfare. *'Devouring of Contrition (058.M42)' - As a tendril of Hive Fleet Kronos snakes into the Sub-Sector, the World of Contrition erupts into full-blown rebellion as the nature of its Genestealer corruption is revealed. Inquisitors Karen Mareev and Caleb Cristo leads a force of Adepta Sorotitas, Astartes, the Deathwatch, and the Imperial Navy to save the Damuterr system. Although they manage to succeed in destroying the tendril of Kronos, due to the extent of the corruption Contrition is subjected to Exterminatus...it is also believed that many elements of the various Genestealer Cults had managed to spread over the Sub-Sector over past centuries. Inquisitors Caleb Cristo and Karen Mareev begin to track down rumored Genestealer corruption across the Sub-Sector, and several Genestealers are captured by the Forge World of Mjorn and are taken deep within Droch Fhiul for study. *'Opening of the Blood Gate (081.M42)' - Elements of the Mechanicus forces aboard Droch Fhiul are corrupted by Genestealers and Khornate influence. These Hereteks then manage to use the inactive webway gate and arcane rituals and to open a warp rift aboard Droch Fhiul. Inquisitor Adam Clarke who had previously infiltrated Droch Fhiul desperately attempts to hunt down the Hereteks and close the Warp Rift, while a force from the Bloodmoon Hunters chapter boards the station eager to hunt for clues as to the prophecy. Lord Inquisitor Vasco leads an inquisitorial strike force alongside Inquisitor Karen Mareev, Caleb Cristo, and detachment of Grey Knights to attempt to end the Demonic threat, as the same time a force form the Masque of the Frozen Stars appears with their own agendas. Although the Inquisitorial forces and Bloodmoon Hunters suffer massive casualties, including Lord Inquisitor Vasco himself, from both Khornate Daemons and Harlequins in a three-way bloodbath the Daemons are successfully slain and Inquisitor Adam Clarke along with the sacrifice of Astropath Stillwater manage to slay the Hereteks and close the rift. As the last Daemon dissipates the Harlequins disappear in a miasma of shadow and cackling laughter. Inquisitor Mareev rises to the rank of Lord Inquisitor, and command of the Contrador Conclave, in the aftermath and subjects Droch Fhiul to exterminatus, and a large scale investigation and purge is conducted across Mjorn. Inquisitor Adam Clarke plays a major role in these investigations, finding substantial vaults of Xenos tech, although secretly he manages to smuggle out several choice artifacts including recovered fragments of the Droch Fhiul Webway gate. The Bloodmoon Hunters, furious, declare a crusade against the Masque of Frozen Stars and hunts them across the Sub-sector, convinced they hold vital information to the prophecy. Chapter Organisation The Bloodmoon Hunters are a non-codex compliant chapter that has been chronically under-strength. To Augment their numbers, the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter Artificers began to augment line combat operations. Facilitating this was bring auxiliaries in the form of Chrono-Gladiators and Tech-Thralls under the control of the Artificers armed with Advanced Heavy Weaponry. Further they bring into the field Heavy Battle Servitors with advanced augmentics. The Chapter is made up of five over-sized companies that have been decimated from attrition, each comprised of squads and marines from the different schools. The chapter never fights as one, or even as whole companies. Instead officers from the companies lead small handpicked hunting parties, comprised of a few squads. Due to their independent natures each Company has their own Armory and Motor pool, their own Veteran formations, and handles their own recruiting. Officer Ranks Masters of the Hunt that lead Hunting Parties in pursuit of Prey *'Hunt Master' - (Chapter Master) Centuries of combat gained from time spent throughout the various ranks of the Chapter have taught him valuable lessons in the art of war, trained him in the various facets of military strategy and honed his martial instincts to the level of near pre-cognizance. Always bestowed on a senior Space Marine with vast experience in both the hunting of xenos and the training of other Astartes. *'Master' - (Captain Equivalent) As penultimate masters of the battlefield, they are able to read its ebb and flow, and adjust their battlefield formations accordingly. Leading from the front, by his example shall his men know what it is to be an Adeptus Astartes, and from his teachings shall they learn the trade of battle in the Emperor's name. Each Company Master bears additional honorific titles, reflective of his solemn duties within the Chapter. All Bloodmoon Hunters are taciturn in nature, and these traits are exemplified by the Company Masters. The leaders of the Bloodmoon Hunters are shadowy figures, more comfortable in seclusion than at the forefront, acting as a skilled orator. Yet for all their silent reservations, Company Masters are no less commanding, though perhaps their grim silence makes them more menacing. **'Seeker of Prey' - In charge of being alert for threats and identifying threats for hunts. A master strategist who has proven his prowess in battle, only the most inspirational and determined warriors may rise to become a Master, having long proved their courage and determination within the ranks of the Chapter. The Seeker of Prey also serves as the Chapter's Leader of the Hunt; it is his task to run any rumours concerning the possible location of a target to ground anywhere in the galaxy. **'Blood Warden' - Steward for Chapter holdings and making sure they are protected and running smoothly. This Master serves as the sentinel of the fortress-monastery. He is responsible for the defense of his Chapter's base of operations and homeworld in the absence of the Chapter Master. Often extremely old, even by the standards of the long-lived Astartes, and typically heavily scarred by centuries of service, each of these Veterans has overseen the daily operations. **'Keeper of the Prophecy' - In charge with understanding and knowing the Prophecy and leading efforts to further understanding its message and preventing it from being fulfilled. In addition to his company command duties oversees all the rites and important rituals of the Chapter cult. **'Master of the Void' - In charge of chapter fleet assets and is in charge of making sure the chapter is secure and victorious in the void and making sure void ships are running smoothly and properly stocked. This Master commands all of the Chapter's space assets and is deemed to have the most experience and greatest skill at planning and executing void-combats, who essentially serves as the Chapter's fleet admiral, commanding its flagship and all other space assets when they deploy for major engagements. *'Forge Lord' - Artificer Captains who are second in command of companies and the Master of the Forge's will for the company's armory. The Forge Lords are schooled in the mysteries of the Machine Cult to a far greater degree than the Techmarines of most other Chapters. Like all Techmarines, they undergo a portion of their instruction under the supervision of the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus. Yet, while most Techmarines maintain a mutually reserved distance from the Cult of Mars, the Forge Lords appear to have far closer links, and are schooled in the most obscure of disciplines. *'Lieutenant' - They are charged as Naysmiths, questioning their Master's battle plans so as to probe for human errors within his logic. A Lieutenant serves as a Demi-company leader, with two assigned per full company. *'Veteran' - Experienced Hunters that have mastered the myriad ways of the hunt, keen eyed and steely of nerves. Veterans are exceptional warriors, even by the elite standards of the Adeptus Astartes. They excel at all forms of combat and are supplied with the best equipment the Chapter has to offer. With their Veteran status comes the right to select weapons of personal choice from the Chapter's Armoury. These Space Marines are legends one and all, warriors who have become part of the Chapter's history. Specialist Ranks *'Master of the Forge' - Keeper of Sanctity and traditional Master of the Forge both. He is the chief engineer and weapon-smith of the Chapter. His knowledge of the arcane sciences has been refined over centuries of service, and rivals that of the senior Tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars. In addition to his responsibilities to maintain the Chapter Armoury, a Master of the Forge is also tasked with the conservation of any arcane technological artefacts to which his Chapter is heir. The head of the Chaplaincy in a Chapter of the Bloodmoon Hunters and head of the Chapter cult, its conglomeration of beliefs and cultural practices. *'Artificer' - Hybrids of Tech-Marines (Frater Astrotechnicus) and Chaplains, overseeing technology and taking part of the hunt, using their technological prowess to aid in the hunt and to guide their brothers in obtaining any valuable tech in the hunt, while also ensuring the sacred tenets of the chapter and the hunt are adhered to. The Artificers proselytise on the sacred duties and the virtues of service to the greater glory of the Emperor. It is the Artificers who administer and oversee the Neophytes' ascension to full Initiate, and who, along with the Chapter's Apothecaries, conduct the many and escalating cybernetic augmentation surgeries an Bloodmoon Hunter Battle-Brother undergoes throughout his service. The Artificers are inspirational figures to their charges, shining exemplars of all that the Chapter holds dear. Line Ranks *'Sergeant' - Sergeants are selected from hardened Veteran Space Marines who have survived and thrived through several solar decades, or even standard centuries, of hard and brutal campaigning in the name of the Emperor of Mankind. These select individuals are singled out and awarded the title of Sergeant, along with the privilege of leading a squadron of their Battle-Brothers into the fires of war. Sergeants undergo additional special training in leadership and tactics. *'Journeyman' **'Lupine School Hunters' - Pack hunters adept at harassing and slaying targets. At a tactical level, the Lupine School Journeymen favor freedom of maneuver and portability of firepower, and their battle tactics showed particular tendencies towards specialized reconnaissance and infiltration units in opening combat operations, to be quickly followed by the rapid deployment of fast armor, close air support and mechanized infantry units as a main strike force. **'Raptor School Hunters' - Relentless hunters that never cease pursuing their prey, hounding them until they collapse from exhaustion. Raptor School requires the hunter to run his prey to ground and finish it off directly. Those of the Raptor school are the Hunters that bring the toughest foes to bay. If an opponent has survived through the gauntlet of ambush and harassment of the Lupine and Arachnid Schools, then the Raptor School would hound the foes until exhaustion and death. These are the pursuit and retrieval specialists of the Bloodmoon Hunters. ***'Iron-Blood Hunters' Bloodmoon Hunter Raptors employ rapidly moving Astartes Bike Squads that are highly adept Biker units in its Companies stretching back for millennia. Rapid speed and relentless attack are the cornerstones of the Iron-Blood Hunters' combat tactics. The Iron-Blood Hunters are often used to destroy isolated targets as well as tracking down and executing fleeing enemies. The Iron-Blood Hunters are composed of Space Marine Bike Squads ideally suited for hit-and-run raids and they use their speed to hunt down their prey. Those who survive in the Raptor School long enough learn to take the doctrines of mobile warfare to the next level of mastery with an expertise in bike warfare. The Iron-Blood Hunters' riding skills are supreme, and they can drive at top speed through almost any impediments to close on their foes. **'Arachnid School Hunters' - Patient hunters that await in carefully prepared ambush sites to slay any who fall under their gaze. The strategy they employ seeks to bring the prey to the hunter. The Arachnid School Journeymen and Artificers are expert sappers, engineers and miners and have acquired a formidable siege train of specialist equipment over the centuries. The Bloodmoon Hunters place a great deal of importance on heavy weaponry of all kinds, for they value the tools of destruction. **'Vanguard Hunters' - Stealthy hunters adept at infiltrating the lairs of their prey, using any tactic to bring their enemy to their knees. Vanguard Hunters are the Reconnaissance and Infiltration Specialists from any of the Schools. The Vanguard Hunters has been known to employ devious tactics such as flanking maneuvers, tunneling to bypass enemy defenses, diversionary tactics, air drops and teleportation behind enemy lines, infiltration, disabling enemy transport vehicles and routes, sabotage of essential supplies, ammunition, food, and fuel depots, as well as atmospheric and ecological tampering, triggering seismic and tectonic activity. Displaying a highly unusual grasp of intrigue and espionage for a Space Marines, they cultivate contacts and agents amongst those Imperial recidivists, outsiders and Renegades for intelligence gathering. *'Apprentice' - (Scouts) Marines in training that scope out prey prepare the battlefield with traps, marking ambush and pursuit trails. Apprentices have a more specialized role on the battlefield and possess incredible long-range reconnaissance capabilities. To this end, Apprentices are the eyes and ears of the Bloodmoon Hunters, although they coordinate closely with other Imperial formations as well. Senior Apprentices become the undisputed masters of battlefield positioning, possessed of limitless patience and a proud determination to choose the most valuable targets for their fellows to destroy. Apprentices stand at the front to guide their comrades' aim, and not to win the battle themselves. *'Aspirant' - Aspirants to become Space Marines are expected to overcome many and varied trials before being accepted into the ranks of Bloodmoon Hunters. Though he will undergo continuous testing throughout his time as a Neophyte, and often well beyond after he becomes an Apprentice. Specialist Formations *'The Comhairle of Fiach' - The Comhairle of Fiach is where the higher authority of the Chapter unites to lead the Chapter. *'Onóir Garda' - The Onóir Garda comprised of the Chapter's most elite Veteran Marines that serve the Comhairle. These taciturn and solemn individuals are ferocious and unyielding in the heat of battle. On the battlefield they serve as their Hunt Master's personal retinue, responsible for the safety of their commander and carrying the Chapter's sacred battle standard into battle. So steeped in the trade of battle and blood are the members of the Honour Guard that their accumulated insights and understanding of warfare commonly outstrips even the experience of the Chapter's Masters. Non-Astartes Personnel *'Chrono-Gladiators' - Criminals tithed to the Bloodmoon Hunters and given death sentences. Given Chemical and Cybernetic enhancements and are implanted with explosives as well as a control vox. Expendable troops lead by Artificers to bolster Bloodmoon Hunter Lines and to provided canon fodder for traps and lures. *'Adsecularis' - Criminals tithed to Bloodmoon Hunters to be converted into servitors. Given Cybernetic enhancements and preparation for eventual life as a servitor. Expendable troops lead by Artificers to bolster Bloodmoon Hunter Lines and to provide canon fodder for traps and lures. These cyborgs were created as the need for them arose by replacing portions of the subject's organic anatomy, central nervous system and physiology with basic augmetics. Order of Battle Chapter Recruitment The gangs of Aigéad Fuil are monitored for their potential. When a likely candidates, for the Astartes of the Bloodmoon Hunters, are observed they are told that the representatives of the God-Emperor would like an audience and to bring an offering of a hide from one of the great beasts of the wastelands. Once the potential hunter has found a suitable offering and was able to defeat it, the aspirant must traverse to the opposite side of the planet in the ravine and cave system that is the entrance of Folsom Keep. To accomplish this they must pass the trials of the Hunters and face the various beasts that hunt the hunters. Once the aspirant has proven capable and clever enough to make it to the entrance their final task is to hunt a Master while under the influence of a special cocktail of drugs meant to test the mind of the aspirants. Those able to find and capture a Master under these conditions are then inducted into the Chapter. Chapter Beliefs As a Chapter the Bloodmoon Hunters have been brought to the brink of extinction several times, but yet have managed to endure with strength when other Chapters would have been destroyed. They have a remarkably grim determination to survive, and one of the Bloodmoon Hunters' hallmarks is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and respond swiftly to the fortunes (or misfortunes) of war. This has tempered their character with a general disregard and suspicion of the mere trappings of honor and glory, favoring results by any means necessary. When faced with insurmountable odds, the Bloodmoon Hunters will change their tactics and withdraw to fight again where more prideful Chapters would perhaps chose to stand and die. The Bloodmoon Hunters value the art of concealment, and utilize secrecy and surprise as paramount weapons in their arsenal. As a result they have always cultivated in themselves an ability to see clearly through the fog of war and strike at the hidden heart of the enemy, where they can inflict the most damage and achieve their objectives, undistracted by hubris or hidebound dogma. In order to attain such a goal, the Chapter's Battle-Brothers are trained in a variety of ways that are remarkably inconsistent with most other Space Marine Chapters. Throughout the Chapter, blind obedience is strongly discouraged. All of these Space Marines are expected to act upon their own initiative at the appropriate times. However, such actions must fit within the context of the larger battle scheme. Battle-Brothers consider unorthodox tactics during their preparation for any conflict. These include unusual deployment maneuvers and infiltration. Most times, they have go so far as to assemble ad hoc units specifically appropriate for resolving a particular tactical problem known as a Hunting Party. All Bloodmoon Hunters brethren are bionically enhanced in some way, for even the most recently initiated Battle-Brother has had his left hand replaced with the iron-sheathed cybernetic gauntlet that marks his acceptance into the ranks of the Chapter. Within a few years of their initiation, most Battle-Brothers sport a burgeoning array of cybernetic augmentations, many of which stay hidden under their Power Armour. In many instances, these enhancements bolster the Battle-Brother's combat effectiveness in some manner, influencing the tactics he utilizes on the battlefield. At the very least, replacing organic flesh with steel and ceramics increases the body's resistance to physical trauma. Individual Bloodmoon Hunters brethren utilize a wide range of bionics that afford them capabilities beyond that of even the already superhuman Space Marines, including highly esoteric Augur receivers bonded directly to the nervous system, inbuilt weaponry, and even, in some cases, additional limbs granting the Battle-Brother the ability to carry especially cumbersome weaponry. The exact nature of the enhancements and Bloodmoon Hunters Battle-Brother undergoes is unique to himself, a lifelong program coordinated according to the arcane counsel of the Artificers. Even within the ranks of a single squad of Battle-Brothers initiated at around the same time, there is little cohesiveness. On very few recorded occasions, Battle-Brothers with a complementary range of enhancements have been grouped together into a single squad, or else squad-mates have undertaken to coordinate their surgeries. Such squads rarely adhere to any particular pattern or standard doctrine and their composition may never be repeated again. For Augmentation Bloodmoon Hunters generally prefer to get bonded to Cyber Hawks and Hounds using them extensively. Bloodmoon Hunters believe out on the fringe like they have been assigned, they should make use of any advantage they can. Imperial Support is limited by what the sector can provide generally. Bloodmoon Hunters in this vein hunt out any scrap of knowledge or tool that could give them an edge on the enemies of the Imperium. All Bloodmoon Hunters who attain command has served time in all three schools and then served with Artificers. Hunt Masters are elected by The Comhairle of Fiach which is Hunt Master, the four Masters, the Master of the Forge, the Chief Apothecary, and Chief Librarian. Forge Lords at need can stand in as proxies for the Master of their Company. The three schools of Hunting make up the philosophies in which Apprentices and Journeymen learn how to hunt the foes of the Imperium. As Journeyman's skills increase he may either specialize in a school or learn from the other schools making his way up the chain of command. In character with their basic aloofness and desire for autonomy, the Battle-Brothers of the Bloodmoon Hunters have an uncommon streak of individualism and self-reliance, for each one is born a survivor, a killer from the shadows, and the inheritor of a warrior lineage that descends from one of the Aigéad Fuil's savage death world gangs. Their aloof and autonomous ways are at odds with most other chapters. This has lead to conflicts and rivalries when they are forced into close support of another chapter. With most other Imperial organizations they would take charge of themselves and their brothers, but with other chapters they chafe under what they consider inferior tactics. Only their own veterans can hope to manage the stubborn nature of these warriors. Combat Doctrine When the Bloodmoon Hunters march into battle, they do so alongside a profusion of war machines and main battle tanks. The Chapter boasts a great number of armored vehicles and Dreadnoughts -- so many, in fact, that each Company maintains its own revered armory of battle tanks and Centurion warsuits. Bloodmoon Hunters Battle-Brothers consider it a great honor to crew one of their Chapter's venerated war machines and interface directly with their vehicles through bionic implants, their heartbeat becoming the thrum of powerful engines and their war cries the roar of heavy gunfire. The Chapter shows a high-degree of adaptability in battle, both in terms of tactics and the weapons its Astartes employ. When an enemy counters one tactic used by the Bloodmoon Hunters, the Chapter plans accordingly, adapts, and changes strategy, enabling it to outmaneuver its enemies and catch them completely off-guard. Flexibility and willingness to adapt to their situation represents the core of the Bloodmoon Hunters' combat doctrine. As they prepare to engage their opponents, these Space Marines are always careful to identify all of their assets and utilize them to the fullest means possible. These often include assets that are not identified within the constraints of the Codex Astartes. Even when operating well within the strictures of that tome, these Battle-Brothers may choose to take measures that others might consider dishonorable. Vanguard Hunters and Apprentices recon the enemy, the Apprentices identify ambush zones and lay traps while the Vanguard Hunters utilize devious tactics to weaken the enemy. Those of the Lupine School would harry and draw in the enemy into ambush zones where those of the Arachnid School and Artificers deploy heavy fire power. Then Raptor School Journeymen deploy and assault the enemy forcing them to flee where the hunting party then gives chase until all are slaughtered and the objective reached Those of the Lupine school are usually deployed in Tactical Marine patterns. In keeping with their willingness to make use of every available resource, the Lupine School Journeymen often takes direct charge of any Imperial Guard units available in a given theater. Rather than deferring to the organisation's intrinsic leadership, these Space Marines deploy their members among the merely human forces and then take a direct hand in their disposition and tactics. The Lupine School Journeymen are exceptionally well-equipped with Assault Bikes, Land Speeders, and Jump Packs. Whenever possible, these Space Marines favor the use of guerrilla tactics and ambushes to deplete enemy forces prior to a more traditional engagement. Millennia of refining their techniques has enhanced their abilities to the point that these Battle-Brothers are often able to decimate enemy forces through precision surgical strikes, minimizing the enemy forces present in future conflicts. Many Space Marine Chapters exhibit a clear disdain for the use of concealment, secrecy, espionage, and counter-intelligence. The Vanguard know, however, that it provides a limited number of countermeasures to overcome those who would use such deception against members of the Adeptus Astartes. However, the Vanguard Journeymen enthusiastically and consistently applies these techniques throughout its battles. Deceiving their opponents as to the timing, nature, and objectives of an attack can often grant the Space Marines a significant tactical advantage. Similarly, by expertly scouting a region prior to launching an attack, the Vanguard are often able to insert their forces without their opponents realizing the number or nature of the opposing forces. Arachnid School Journeymen are generally deployed as Devastator Marine patterns. The use of toxic gas, burning Phosphor and contaminated rad-shells does not rankle their Chapter's honor. Bloodmoon Hunter Astartes have a inherent resilience to toxins and poisons which enable them to be deployed to warzones afflicted by the most hellish and lethal conditions, be they atomic, biological or chemical in nature. Where possible, field fortifications will be used. Arachnid Journeymen doctrine includes extensive use of fortifications to occupy the maximum number of opponents while using the absolute minimum number of troops. This in turn keeps the bulk of the Bloodmoon Hunter Marines fresh and available for assaults, and allows them to achieve superiority elsewhere. Those of the Raptor School are generally deployed in Assault Marine Patterns. Making use of Bikes and Jump Packs the mobility and speed of Raptor School Hunters allow them to keep up with even the swiftest of foes. As the hunters that get those enemies clever enough to survive the gauntlet of the other hunters, these hounds are forever baying to finish the job. Having a long tradition of maintaining highly adept Biker units in its Companies stretching back for millennia, Bloodmoon Hunter Raptors employ rapidly moving Astartes Bike Squads known as "Iron-Blood Hunters." They are utilized principally in harrowing and running down a broken or scattered foe, and to counter-assault against flanking attacks or breakthroughs by numerically superior enemies in the field. While part of the Iron-Blood Hunters closes with the enemy, it is the Land Speeders piloted by Raptor School Journeymen that ensure that the bike-mounted spearhead can reach its quarry. To do this requires vehicles and pilots as mobile and quick-witted as the bike formations themselves. The Iron-Blood Hunters advocate a fluid style of attack, and all its members must be ready to switch from well-rehearsed set-piece attacks to improvised breakthroughs or rapid pursuit of fleeing foes. In the Iron-Blood Hunter's unconventional composition, a single Land Speeder from their other Raptor brethren makes up part of the standard Attack Squadron, while others (up to five) are grouped into Support Squadrons that can be split as needed. This unusual doctrine has been developed because the Raptors use Land Speeders to perform a variety of battlefield roles, due to their versatile weapons loadout. The Raptors can equip their Land Speeders for light probing reconnaissance, advanced scouting, tank-hunting, seek and destroy missions, and so on as required by tactical demands. The Artificers provide the additional manpower by following the teachings of the Cult Mechanicus in using Heavy Battle Servitors, and a selection of Chemically and Cybernetically modified criminals as Chrono-gladiators and Adsecularis with implanted explosives and vox into combat as expendable troops. Their tactics and attitude to them are a double edged sword. Close Coordination is hard for the Bloodmoon Hunters outside their own squads and handpicked parties. Only the command and veterans are flexible enough to keep the various schools of hunting working together. Otherwise when a members of a school dominate a Hunting Party it will end as their tactics being the most often used. Further if communications between the various groups breaks down it could lead to some of them interfering with each others' plans. Loose coordination and use of individual talents are where they excel. Chapter Gene-Seed Bloodmoon Hunters' know not from which Primarch their Geneseed descends from. The knowledge of their progenitor died when the veterans of the chapter were killed along with a large portion of their chapter in transit to the Eastern Fringe. When they finally founded their stronghold near the Forge World of Lux, they were a much weakened Chapter. The Bloodmoon Hunters' greatest mystery concerns their history and the prophecy that was uttered at their formation. A large part of the Chapter's ongoing quest into knowledge, recovering lost information, and in figuring out the prophecy of Blood. Bloodmoon Hunters' gene-seed condition produces warriors with finely sculpted physiques, and finely-controlled thought processes, with psychological tendencies driven towards personal achievement and competition to prove individual superiority. Like many Chapters, the Bloodmoon Hunters also suffer from certain genetic deficiencies. The Bloodmoon Hunters' demeanor heavily reflects their combat doctrine. Generally reserved, Bloodmoon Hunters stay in the shadows until the right time to speak. When they do pitch in they tend to be very recalcitrant and terse, often condemning the more direct tactics of their fellow Chapters. Bloodmoon Hunters' gene-seed produced a marked tendency towards suspicion and paranoia within the Astartes of the Chapter but also was known to create Space Marines who were extremely intelligent and possessed naturally well-developed problem-solving abilities. Many Chapters indulge in trophy taking, but the Bloodmoon Hunters have in the past gone out of their way to capture, master and utilize weapons taken. Their superior mental acuity is achieved through their sheer drive, determination and arduous training. This is because one of the unusual traits of Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes, which may derive from an unforeseen mutation within their gene-seed, is that every Hunter possesses a near-genius ability to observe, memorize and adapt to any situation. This is what makes each a Hunter of unparalleled ability, for even the smallest signs can be tracked. The Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter is highly unusual among its fellow Space Marines and its modus operandi is quite different from that of the bulk of the Adeptus Astartes. The Bloodmoon Hunters do not fight as a single force or even usually as full companies but instead second squads drawn from the Chapter's companies and make use of bonded cybernetic enhanced humans and creatures. The Bloodmoon Hunters seem to bear little respect for anyone or anything, save the Emperor of Mankind and the Fabricator Generals of the Mechanicus, for whom they have displayed fanatic and unquestioning loyalty. They tend to show no love for civility or deference when dealing with individual Imperial commanders and other Space Marine Chapters, but they have been known to show pleasure in testing their skills against worthy foes. Primarch's Curse: Search of the Perfect Hunt The quest for perfection in the Hunt consumes the Bloodmoon Hunters in body as well as spirit. For some it was not enough to achieve the accolade of a perfect Hunt, they thirsted to embody that perfection. For these warriors it was not enough that the Emperor had crafted their flesh, and shaped each with insight and knowledge no other could rival; their granted transhuman state was simply the beginning of an unfinished path. Level 1 (Improvement over Flesh) - The Battle-Brother perceives his own flesh as a hindrance. Feels that to become better one must improve upon themselves with the use of Bionics. Some beneath a shell of apparent superhuman normality concealed augmented senses, modified musculature, even surgical alterations to their brain structure. Level 2 (Obsession of the Thrill) - The Battle-Brother no longer feels like improving their body is enough, it's the Hunt is lacking. Now the Battle-Brother will set up even more extreme challenges to increase the thrill. These warriors cannot wait to prove themselves through success in their quests to seek out and slay dangerous or potent enemies and survive. Level 3 (Everything is Prey) - No one and nothing is enough for that perfect hunt. Seeking greater challenges will push others away and create rivalries to get the most out of each engagement. Refuses to trust allies and feels that only their closest brothers can aid. The only warriors outside of their own tight-knit squads with whom they openly converse are the Veterans, and even then their communications take place whilst out on shared patrols. Their stalkers' camaraderie remains dormant when in the presence of others not of their ilk. There is much rivalry between these warriors, as each competes to kill more of the enemy. Notable Members *'Hunt Master Shasmu Khonsu' - The Current Chapter Master of the Bloodmoon Hunters, recognized as the greatest hunter of all in the Chapter. *'Hunt Master/Artificer Folsom' - The Founding Father of the Artificers of the Bloodmoon Hunters. Sole Survivor of the Veterans during the disaster during Founding on a Death Hunt of the 35th Millennium in Eastern Fringes. His leadership and stewardship of the other brothers allowed them to drive off the infestation. Through the use of heavily modified serfs and servitors, he waged a several month long battle clearing corridors and tunnels of Aigéad Fuil after shutting down the void shields on one of the Hives. *'Master Scáth Hiachóir' - Formerly member of the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter Veterans. Leader of the Scáth Hiachóir Hunting Party during the Blue Hand Heresy in M39. Sergeant Scáth Hiachóir led his brothers to victory securing drop zones for Imperial Reinforcements and tying up Blue Hand Traitors until the reinforcements could arrive. In M40 Became one of the most Famed Masters of the Void. In M41 became one of the legendary Dreadnoughts of the Chapter famed for his wisdom in battle. *'Forge Lord Jensen' - A unique tech-marine originating from the Bloodmoon Hunters homeworld whose abilities in the arena of combat as well as the technological lead him to lead 3rd Hunt Company for several decades. Eventually rose to Forge Lord to the current Hunt Master and a unofficial member of The Comhairle of Fiach. Before his rise to prominence in the Chapter was a Master of the Forge for the Deathwatch. Jensen wields a mighty Relic Power Hammer that is said to be able to build or break anything and carries an Grav Pistol as well. His Servo Harness is armed with a variety of Cutters and wielders. His Custom Artificer Armor was designed by him. *'Forge Lord Issac' - The spiritual leader of 4th Company making sure that the members of the company doesn't fall into corruption in their pursuit of technology to uplift the Imperium. Wielder of Eiclips Na Gealaí, He offers benediction as well as wielding death to the foes of mankind. *'Artificer Erxandros' - Erxandros started his initiation as typical recruit of the Astartes, by daring to kill a Great Beast. He was unique in the fact that he jury-rigged his lance into a launcher to bring down the great beast. After joining, he was quickly assigned to armory duty until he could be sent to Mars for Tech-Marine Training. He quickly mastered the quasi-religious science of humanity, but that wasn't enough for him in his chapter's pursuit of defending the people of his sector. He went a few steps further, starting to analyze the weapons and tactics of their ever present foes, the primals (Drukhari), that raided the sector. He has faced countless WAAAGH! of the Orks of the sector. He follows his chapter's tradition to the various battlefields he has fought on and anoints the the ground with them. These Hunts have been a great honor to him as he has been trusted to take these alone. In his time with his chapter, he mastered both being a technician and a warrior. During one of his Hunts, he ran into Alderson who mentored the young Techmarine. They shared a lack of fear of xeno equipment and an urge to learn how to better combat them. Erxandros learned the techniques of hacking from Iron Maiden which allows him to have a chance of remotely hacking all sort of Servitors and potentially even Magi, Warp-smiths and Tech-marines, perhaps even Machine Spirits. It also allows him to block scrap-code attacks against himself. During an incursion on Droch Fhiul Research Station where he was assigned to support a squad of his brothers investigating the prophecy of blood, he was left as the only survivor bound to service of Inquisitor Adam Clarke. *'Artificer Alderson' - Mentor to Artificer Erxandros, one of the oldest marines in service to 3rd Hunt Company before becoming a Techmarine. Favoring pistols as his usual armaments has made this Techmarine one of the more unique warriors among the Bloodmoon Hunters. He wields a combination of Bolt Pistol and Inferno Pistol while wearing a unique Jump Pack of his design that allows for his Mechadendrites instead of a normal Servo Arm. Alderson spent several years among the Martians as his chapter's ambassador to them. *'Artificer Dorcha Teicneo' - Member of the Deathwatch, seconded from his original Chapter the Bloodmoon Hunters soon after becoming one of their Artificers. With his heavy weapons and his vast knowledge of the xeno and imperial technology, he provides valuable knowledge and skills to the Deathwatch. *'Apothecary Ian Creiche' - Member of the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter's Apothecarion that has been seconded to the Long Vigil with the Ordo Xenos' Chamber Militant - the Deathwatch. An expert marksman and highly knowledgeable about both xenos and Imperial biology, he makes a valuable member of the Kill-Teams. Ian's knowledge of poisons is second only to some very knowledgeable Drukhari Haemonculi. The marines of 2nd Hunt company are Tireless and Ruthless Hunters, they are known fielding large amounts of Assault Marines and Ian was known among them for his poisons and accuracy with any Imperial Weapon. *'Lieutenant Fiach Cinnead' - Member of the 4th Hunt Company, The Lunar Prophets whose duty was to track down information on the Prophecies of Blood. Confidence in his ability to lead independently has been sorely shaken by the events of Lebendstein where his Hunting party lost twelve marines to the Bloodborn Wolves. Even though his team had been small compared to most chapters, this represented quite the force for the Bloodmoon Hunters and he believes it was due to his leadership they lost so many of their Primaris Marines. Chapter Fleet *''Fola Gealach'' (Battle Barge) - An Invincible-class Battle Barge Variant has severe compromises were inherent in the class' internal compartmentalization and back-up redundancy in vital systems, especially the power distribution grid compared to other Battle Barges. It is claimed that the Fola Gealach would be faster than starships that were stronger and stronger than starships that were faster. This theory proved true and the Fola Gealach won a series of ship-to-ship actions with Heretic and xenos Cruisers. But it is primarily configured for the close support of planetary assaults and surface landings and carries numerous bombardment turrets and torpedo tubes. A large amount of the starship's hull space is dedicated to launch bays for intra-system spacecraft. *''Jager Verfolger'' (Battle Barge) - Superior technologies used to construct the multiple Lance turrets on the Jager Verfolger have now all but been forgotten. The rows of fearsome Lance armament along the broadsides of the Jager Verfolger are its most distinctive feature. It has been noted that these Lance arrays are fully capable of operating at much greater ranges by an engineering process that greatly increases the load-bearing capabilities of their main power relays. It also houses and protects the delicate and formidable Nova Cannon bombardment weapon. *''Gorm Gealach'' (Strike Cruiser) - Gorm Gealach is pre-equipped with two Jovian Pattern Launch Bays that take up a port and starboard weapon capacity slot. These are built into the design, and nearly impossible to remove. Originally designed for launching craft against planetside targets, successive upgrades to the Gorm Gealach communication suite and Auspex detection systems expanded its capabilities for launching long-range strikes against other capital ships in deep space. *''Shikari'' (Strike Cruiser) - Originally conceived as a planetary assault and fleet-support vessel, built around the colossal energies of the graviometrically-driven Stygies Pattern Nova Cannon. The ship was designed to remain behind the main fleet line, using the Nova Cannon to bombard the enemy at extreme range. With a Battleship style power plant the Shikari produces enough extra power to have full bays of lance batteries. *''Gealach Fómhar'' (Strike Cruiser) - Gealach Fómhar puts out a devastating amount of firepower at long range, including dual banks of lances and heavy clustered long range weapon batteries on each broadside. Mustering a considerable array of long-range weapons batteries to complement its sizeable launch bays, the Gealach Fómhar is even more formidable than its considerable tonnage would suggest. *''Veidar Fallensteller'' (Strike Cruiser) - Uses an advanced pattern of nuclear fusion-based plasma propulsion provides considerably more thrust than any other comparably-sized Plasma Drive. Veidar Fallensteller also armed with considerable short-ranged firepower, including turbo-linked Destructor Cannon batteries on both broadsides and several decks' worth of plasma cannon batteries. *''Ag Gáire Le Gibbous'' (Nova-Class Frigate) - Crash landed on the planet of Lebendstein after rough travel through the Warp Rift as a surge hits the vessel. The crash kills most of the crew of the Ag Gáire Le Gibbous, leaving Fiach Cinnead's Hunting Party as the survivors. A small force of Bloodborn Wolves, patrolling the planet during their journey to the galactic south-east, following the Cicatrix Maledictum, saw the crash of the Ag Gáire Le Gibbous and decided to investigate, beginning a series of hit and run attacks and guerrilla warfare that would become known as the Battle of Lebenstein. *''Spejder'' (Hunter-class Destroyer) - Spejder's greatest asset is its speed and maneuverability, enabling it to catch the small, fast vessels favoured by pirates. Chapter Relics *''Teorainn'' - A Relic Stalker Artifex Pattern Bolter fitted with a suppressor unit to dampen its sound and muzzle flash, and an optical sight to augment the user’s aim, use of a Dark Eye nightscope that greatly enhanced the weapon's accuracy during nighttime operations. Teorainn is engraved with sigils of disruption that destabilise a psyker's connection with the Warp. Teorainn has accuracy and power unrivalled in other Bolters of its size and integrates a Fire Selector as well as a Targeter. Teorainn fires glittering rounds imparting freezing payload as they explode deep in the flesh of their victims using unknown technologies to make it's ammunition this way. *''Eiclips Na Gealaí'' - A Relic Pistol that fires micro-atomic munitions that draws power from a planet's magnetosphere to form the unique ammunition as it fires. The munitions that leaps from its muzzle can reduce a man to a blackened shadow in a solar second and can cut holes in a heavily-fortified Aquila Stongpoint if necessary. The bulk of the barrel is surrounded by coils of conductive material, these coils generate an electromagnetic field oriented along the barrel. the micro-atomic munitions are sped to just short the speed of light. *''Fuilphlasma'' - A Plasma Pistol that was used by an Master Raknor on a now lost Agri World against the Tau. Under the leadership of Blood Warden, the Master of 3rd Company ''Blades of Fulsom, his men held the line against a massive Tau incursion in which the Master lost his life and so did most of the Hunting party. It was a pyrric victory but his heroics in sniping a '''TY7 Devilfish' with this Plasma Pistol held the lines for Astra Militarum support turning the tide at that time. Deathwatch Service The Bloodmoon Hunters are known to be a great source of knowledgeable Masters of the Forge for Deathwatch Outposts. Most Artificers of the Bloodmoon Hunters will spend several years in service with the Deathwatch as a matter of pride. All the Bloodmoon Hunters are trained in the ways of the priests of mars to a larger degree then most chapters by the Techmarines of the chapter. Due to this the Bloodmoon Hunters will offer their kill-team a great amount of knowledge on both imperial and xeno technological works. The relentless dedication with which a Hunter will pursue their objectives makes them ideal for the harder tasks the more humanitarian chapters would struggle to carry out. Artificers trained as both the Spiritual keepers of the Bloodmoon Hunters as well as the Technology masters for their Chapter also provide inspiration and guidance to their Brother Astartes in the Deathwatch when they serve the long vigil. Even Bloodmoon Hunters who are not artificers find it a great honor to be chosen as the representatives to the Inquisition from the Chapter on how to hunt the Alien. Being chosen by the masters for such an honor is an aspiration for many a Journeymen. Chapter Appearance Chapter Colors The Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter wear dusty red colored Power Armour with dark grey shoulder plates trimmed with gunmetal grey. Their aquila or imperialis is silver with a darkened gunmetal grey center-piece. Chapter Badge The Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter badge is a stylized white colored Skull with a Blood Crescent Moon center on the forehead and a Blood Tear coming from its eye. Chapter Relations Allies 'Astra Militarum' *'Lunar Venatorii Cavalry Regiments': No finer cavalry are found within the Heimdall Sector than the Lunar Venatorii Cavalry Regiments and their Wyrm Riders. They are the best the Astra Militarum of Ishtar has to offer, and they form the breakwater defense needed to continue Imperial interests. On the training moon of Verliaus, the academies of war train the best and brightest of the Fringe if not the sector. Bloodmoon Hunters often work with these regiments out in the Fringe Worlds 'Adeptus Mechanicus' *'Forge World Mjorn': The Imperial Forge World of Mjorn is one of the most influential planets in the Ishtar Sub-Sector of the Segmentum Ultima, and the only Forge World of the sub-sector. Settled long ago by a large Xenarite Explorator Fleet seeking refuge after a devastating journey through the warp and harrowing encounters with Xenos that shaped the founders of the world into a distinctly new culture, it has grown rapidly into a major regional industrial powerhouse in the Sector and is known for its aggressive exploration, examination, and destruction of xenos ruins across the galaxy as well as possessing several rare STCs. Mjorn also trains large numbers of Tech-Adepts for the various worlds in the sector providing them a network of agents and representatives throughout the region. Artificers of the Bloodmoon Hunters receive additional training on Mjorn which allows them to influence the Techmarines in the doctrine of the Xenarites. 'Inquisition' *'Ordo Machinum': Known as "The Judicators of the Forge", the Ordo Machinum scrutinise the Adeptus Mechanicus. Specifically, they are concerned with the reintegration of recovered STC variants into the Imperium's armies and the rare adoptions of alien technologies into established Mechanicum protocols. Inquisitors of the Ordo Machinum often accompany Adeptus Mechanicus archaeological teams to distant worlds, the better to see for themselves exactly what has been recovered. Bloodmoon Hunters often accompany these Inquisitors on these distant worlds that include the Fringe Worlds near the Ishtar Subsector. 'Adeptus Astartes' *'Deathwatch': Because of their hunt of xenos, the Bloodmoon Hunters enthusiastically send some of their most experienced and capable members for service in the Deathwatch. This service is considered a distinctive honour and privilege by the Chapter's Battle-Brothers. In this way, the Bloodmoon Hunters can glean information about xenos that are not part of their Chapter's direct experience, just as the Deathwatch can discover ways of dealing with additional xenosforms. This consistent involvement with the Deathwatch has granted the Chapter unusually close ties to the organisation. *'Jade Knives Chapter': The Jade Knives are a 26th Founding Chapter of loyalist Adeptus Astartes, descended from the gene-line of Jaghatai Khan and the White Scars. created as a reactionary measure to the alien presence in the eastern fringes of Segmentum Ultima that is the T'au Empire and are the closest neighbors of the Bloodmoon Hunters. As such the two chapters has shared many a campaign against Tau incursions and Hunts for particularly dangerous foes. Enemies 'Tau' The Tau Empire expanded its borders through a series of so-called Sphere Expansions. Bloodmoon Hunters have on and off tried to limit Tau influence around the Eastern Fringe, especially Ishtar Subsector. This has lead to many conflicts of both active and covert affairs. Due to official Imperial policy that a full war is not desirable at times has made the matters complicated over time. 'Eldar Corsair Raiders' Eldar Corsairs are those Eldar Outcasts who have deliberately chosen to make their living by raiding the commerce of the other star-faring intelligent races of the Milky Way Galaxy, particularly the shipping of the Imperium of Man. They are a constant threat to Imperial merchant shipping especially the far flung Ishtar fringe worlds where Imperial Navy presence is light. 'Drukhari Raiders' The Dark Eldar are mainly pirates and slavers who prey on targets across the galaxy to feed their unholy appetites for other sentient beings' souls, a terrible desire called the Thirst, though they are sometimes used as mercenaries by other species. This has lead to many conflicts with the Bloodmoon Hunters as they discovered the deprivations that have been acted upon the fringe worlds. *'Kabal of the Crystal Daggers': Kabal of the vile and murderous xenos race, the Drukhari. Although a minor Kabal, the Crystal Daggers formed from remains of the old Commorite nobility . Although having always carved a small place with a minimal influence on the intrigues of the Dark City, the upheavals of the last millennia shoots more and more towards difficulties to maintain themselves, pushing them inexorably towards their ends. 'Tyranids' They Bloodmoon Hunter are also known to passionately hate Tryanids, due to the events that occurred during the Second Tyrannic War when Hive Fleet Kraken reduced the Bloodmoon Hunters numbers then shortly after the Great Rift Hive Fleet Kronos as well came through Ishtar Subsector. Since that time, the Bloodmoon Hunters want nothing more than to avenge themselves against the Tyranids for the lives of their fallen battle-brothers. 'Ork Freebooterz' The Bloodmoon Hunters have a pathological hatred for Orks. Reviling all greenskins with a passion, they see them as nothing more than mindless brutes that care about nothing but war and spreading chaos. To the Bloodmoon Hunters, the Orks are a threat to the Ishtar subsector that must be exterminated by any means necessary. The Waagh of 019.M41 caused untold damage to the systems they protect and the Bloodmoon Hunters have not forgiven the Xenos for it. Freebooterz are bandits and sell-swords belonging to no specific tribe or klan but who will work with any tribe as well as stand against any other if the price is right. 'Renegades' *'Blue Hand Warband': The Blue Hand Chaos Space Marine Warband are a small force of Traitor Astartes born of the former Loyalist Chapter of the same name. Being few in number, the Blue Hand have sought to raise heretical cults on worlds across the Ultima Segmentum. Such cults are known as The Cult of the Blue Hand of Tzeentch. They are dedicated to the Chaos God of change, as are the Blue Hand Marines, and incorporate the Warband’s eponymous sigil into their iconography. *'Knights of Laeran': The Knights of Laeran are a Chaos Warband devoted to Slaanesh, derived primarily from the Emperor's Children. They are particularly infamous for their tendency to infiltrate, fortify, and corrupt Imperial pleasure worlds, rather than the raiding and pillaging typical of Slaanesh worshipers. *'Bloodborn Wolves': The Bloodborn Wolves are an infamous Chaos Warband comprised of former Space Wolves Astartes that fell to the worship of the Chaos Blood God, Khorne. Renaming themselves the Bloodborn Wolves, these Heretic Astartes have given themselves over to the beast within, revelling in bloodletting and beastial fury. After a chance encounter on Lebendstein Bloodmoon Hunters and Bloodborn Wolves have counted each other as bitter enemies. Notable Quotes By the Chapter About Chapter Gallery Bloodmoon_Hunter_Mk_VII_Variant_Captain.png|Bloodmoon Hunter Master in Variant Mark VII Armor by ������������������ ���������� Bloodmoon_Hunters_1.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Concept Art by OldKingCole77 Bloodmoon_Hunters_3.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Concept Art by OldKingCole77 Bloodmoon_Hunters_Sergeant.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Sergeant Concept Art by OldKingCole77 Bloodmoon_Hunters_Sergeant_2.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Sergeant Concept Art by OldKingCole77 Bloodmoon_Hunters_Veteran.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Veteran Concept Art by OldKingCole77 Bloodmoon_Hunters_2.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Concept Art by Raptor Blitzwolf Bloodmoon_Hunters_Mark-III.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Concept Art by Raptor Blitzwolf Bloodmoon_Hunters_4.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Concept Art by Brig_Rakhaut Bloodmoon_Hunters_Squad.png|Bloodmoon Hunters Squad Concept Art by Brig_Rakhaut Bloodmoon Hunter Vet Sgt Model Plasma Pistol.jpg|Bloodmoon Hunter Veteran Sergeant with Plasma Pistol as a Model Bloodmoon_Hunter_Veteran_Model_Kneeling.jpg|Bloodmoon Hunter Veteran Model Kneeling Bloodmoon_Hunter_Veteran_Model_with_Plasma_Gun.jpg|Bloodmoon Hunter Veteran Model with Plasma Gun Acknowledgements Thanks to OldKingCole77 for reviewing and helping consolidate and refine the Chapter. Thanks to Raptor Blitzwolf, Achilles Prime, Rakhaut, and OldKingCole77 for artwork and working on concepts. Thanks to Algrim Whitefang for work on the gene-seed section and intro help, as well as concepts. Category:Imperium Category:Ishtar Subsector Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Unknown Geneseed Category:13th Founding